cysticercosis
Sign in to saveCysticercosis is a tissue infection caused by the young form of the pork tapeworm. People may have few or no symptoms for years. In some cases, particularly in Asia, solid lumps of between one and two centimeters may develop under the skin. After months or years, these lumps can become painful and swollen and then resolve. A specific form called neurocysticercosis, which affects the brain, can cause neurological symptoms. In developing countries, this is one of the most common causes of seizures.
AI overview
Cysticercosis is an infection caused by the larval form of the pork tapeworm that can develop cysts in various tissues of the body, often without noticeable symptoms for years. When it affects the brain (neurocysticercosis), it can cause serious neurological problems like seizures, making it a major public health concern in developing countries where it's a leading cause of seizures.
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Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Cysticercosis
- Medical condition (new).image
- Neurocysticercosis.gif
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Magnetic resonance image (MRI) in a person with neurocysticercosis showing many cysts within the brain
- Medical condition (new).field
- Infectious disease
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- 1–2 cm lumps under the skin
- Medical condition (new).complications
- Neurocysticercosis
- Medical condition (new).duration
- Long term
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Eating tapeworm eggs (fecal oral transmission)
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- aspiration of a cyst
- Medical condition (new).prevention
- Improved sanitation, treating those with taeniasis, cooking pork well
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- None, medications
Article
28 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Muscles
- Nervous system
- Eyes
- Skin
- Cause
- Diagnosis
- Serological
- Neurocysticercosis
- Imaging
- CSF
- Prevention
- Pigs
- Limitations
- Vaccines
- S3PVAC vaccine
- Other
- Management
- Neurocysticercosis
- Eyes
- Epidemiology
- Regions
- Infection estimates
- Deaths
- History
- See also
- References
- External links
Cysticercosis is a tissue infection caused by the young form of the pork tapeworm. People may have few or no symptoms for years. In some cases, particularly in Asia, solid lumps of between one and two centimeters may develop under the skin. After months or years, these lumps can become painful and swollen and then resolve. A specific form called neurocysticercosis, which affects the brain, can cause neurological symptoms. In developing countries, this is one of the most common causes of seizures.
Cysticercosis is usually acquired by eating food or drinking water contaminated by tapeworms' eggs from human feces. Among foods, egg-contaminated vegetables are a major source. The tapeworm eggs are present in the feces of a person infected with the adult worms, a condition known as taeniasis. Taeniasis, in the strict sense, is a different disease and is due to eating cysts in poorly cooked pork. People who live with someone with pork tapeworm have a greater risk of getting cysticercosis. The diagnosis can be made by aspiration of a cyst. Taking pictures of the brain with computer tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is most useful for the diagnosis of disease in the brain. An increased number of a type of white blood cell, called eosinophils, in the cerebral spinal fluid and blood is also an indicator.